Switching Sides
by Rikusgirl1
Summary: Life at Nintendo is getting tough for the Hero of Time. When his shadow self suggests that they quit Nintendo and head over to Square Enix, Link reluctantly agrees. Will switching companies really save the young heroes from disappearing forever?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **So, this was an idea I had a while ago while thinking of the next Zelda game, Skyward Sword. I'm not sure where this story will go, but that's half the fun.

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"Again!" Miyamoto shouted at the exhausted Hylian boy in the simulator.

"Please, I need a break…" The blond said through stuttered breaths. This new game was proving to be the hardest Link had ever done. The main reason being this was the first true game where he had to use his right hand. His previous one had been recorded with him being left handed, but then flipped for a new system.

"All right, we're done for today Link. Go get some rest." Miyamoto, whom Link thought of as his father, turned off the simulator, leaving Link in an empty gray room. He was quite familiar with this room. It was here that he had experienced many grand adventures for his "father". He would fight and explore, and all his actions were recorded and made into games.

Link sighed and stretched. His new game was to be called Skyward Sword, and in this game he'd have to learn to fight with his right hand. He didn't quite understand it himself, but Miyamoto said it was because most people in the world are right handed and he wanted the new game to feel real when controlling it. This confused the young man because nothing about him or his adventures were very "real" to begin with. He shrugged it off and switched his sword back to his left hand. He swung it a few times to get the feel of it back. Instantly he felt better and sheathed his sword. Nothing left to do but go to his room and wait for the next day.

Now, Link loved challenges, and at first he took having to fight with his right hand as a great way to really test his skills. After a week of recording, however, he found this time around he was having more trouble than even his first game. It just wasn't natural to him. He had talked to several of his companions about this, but they were little comfort to him. Zelda encouraged him to keep trying, which Link did the best he could. Midna laughed at him, and said he was cute when he struggled. He even tried talking to Navi, but she simply nagged at him that he was giving up too easily. Even his other Nintendo heroes were little help. Mario said that he needs to listen to Miyamoto; after all "the creators know best". Pit, whom he had formed a friendship with in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, didn't really listen to Link's rant. He was too excited about finally getting a new game after 20 years of inactivity.

Link crashed on his bed as soon as he got into his room. After a short nap he figured a few Brawls would do him some good. However, he never did get a chance to sleep. He felt a chilling presence enter his room just as he was about to drift to sleep. Instantly alert, Link shot up and turned to the door to his room. Leaning against the wall was a black and gray version of himself with burning crimson eyes. It was Dark Link, Link's "evil" counterpart. Strangely enough the two had grown close within the past few years. Just because they had to fight in the games didn't mean they have to be enemies outside, right?

"Hello, Link." Dark Link said in his usual sarcastic tone, "Have a nice day?"

"Hardly," Link answered with a sigh. "What are you doing here, Dark?"

"You're tired of this place, am I right?"

"Well…I guess you could put it that way. I just don't understand why I can't just use my left hand for this new game."

"That's because Miyamoto doesn't really care about you, Link."

The blue-eyed blond stared in shock at the other's words, "What? That's not true."

"It is. The Creators don't really care about any of us. They just want money, and we're the one's making it for them. Once our games stop selling, they'll toss us aside like a used tissue." Dark Link grinned while he said this, knowing full well he was angering the other.

"Miyamoto-sama wouldn't do that!"

"Oh? He wouldn't, would he?" The shadow being started to walk over to where Link sat, "How do you think Pit felt when he was left alone in the darkness for 20 years while the Creators focused on you and Mario and everyone else?"

"They brought Pit back!"

"What if they forgot about you for 20 years, hmm?" He raised a grayish-silver eyebrow.

"They wouldn't do that!"

"Would they?" His last words made Link stop. Would they? Would Miyamoto forget about Link if his next couple of games didn't sell? What would he do then?

"I've already spoken with the cast of Golden Sun, and a few have agreed to come with me. After all, the only mention they got in Brawl was an Assist Trophy."

"Go with you? Where?"

"To Square Enix." Dark Link leaned against the wall next to Link's bed.

"Wh-what? Wait…you don't mean…"

"That's right, Link. We're going to quit Nintendo. I'm tired of this company. Did you know I've never really had a big part in our games? I've had a few, near the beginning, but they've all but forgotten me. It really ticks me off."

"So, you're really going to…quit?"

"Yes. Are you in?" He looked at the Hylian intently; he was dead serious about this.

"I…I don't know…" Link looked away from his shadow self.

"Link, think about it. If you stay here you'll be forgotten. If we go to Square they'll keep our memories alive forever."

"Forever…" Link didn't want to be forgotten. For in this world being forgotten meant disappearing. You wouldn't exist any longer. It seemed to Link like he only had one option, "Okay. I'll go with you."

"That's my Hero of Time." The shadow quickly planted a small kiss on Link's cheek, causing the latter to blush slightly and recoil from the former. This made Dark Link chuckle. He loved teasing the 17 year old like that.

"Just get out of here." Link said while lying back on his mattress.

"All right, all right. I'll leave you alone." Dark Link stood up straight and smirked at the blond, "See you tomorrow, Link." With that, the dark entity vanished.

Link sighed and stared at the ceiling of his room, "Quit Nintendo, huh…"

~/~

The next day Link was back in the simulator, fighting against a giant scorpion-looking-thing with eyes on its claws. That was another thing Link didn't quite get. All of his enemies had such obvious weak spots, it was almost funny. He wished he had a real challenge; like something that didn't have an eye growing in a strange place. He tried slashing with his right hand, but his reflexes with that hand were still slow, so his strike was parried and he was sent backwards. He stumbled on a root beneath his feet and fell onto his back with a thud. That finished off the last of his hearts.

Miyamoto sighed and turned off the simulator, "Link, you need to get the hang of this. We can distract the fans with handheld games for only so long. They don't want Toon Link, bless his heart; they want you!"

"I know Miyamoto-sama." The Hylian said as he stood up. "I'm sorry. I need more time to practice."

"…Fine. However, from now on you're going to use your right hand in Brawl to get used to the feel of the sword. I know this is asking a lot of you, but I need you to do this for me."

"I'll try, fa…Miyamoto-sama."

"Good. Now, take a break before the next session."

"Okay." Link sheathed his sword and headed for the exit of the simulator.

"Get your ass kicked again, Link?" The shadowy voice waiting for Link on the other side of the door said.

"Shut up, Dark." Link ignored the shadow of himself and kept walking.

The shadow followed, as he always did. He whispered to the Hylian, "Tonight, at midnight. You have until then to persuade anyone else to join us."

Link turned to his darkness, but he had already disappeared. "Persuade others…" He said to himself. He could only think of a few people he wanted to ask; namely, Zelda, Midna, and a few others. First thing's first: asking Zelda. Link started off to look for his Princess.

~/~

"What?" Zelda held a hand over her mouth in surprise to Link's news. "You're seriously going to leave Nintendo?"

"Shh." Link pressed a finger to his mouth and looked around in case anyone heard. He then continued in a hushed voice. "Yes, I am. And I want you to come with me. We'll go to Square Enix. There we can be safe. We won't be forgotten."

"Forgotten? What makes you think we'll be forgotten?"

"Think about it, Princess. If The Legend of Zelda games stop selling, Miyamoto-sama and the others are just going to throw us away and move on to the next best thing. We're going to die if we stay here."

"But…" Zelda looked away from her long time friend and hero.

Link took her hands in his. "Please Zelda; I don't want to go without you."

The Princess of Hyrule stared into Link's sapphire eyes. There was no way she was going to abandon him. Not ever. "Okay, I'll go with you."

Link's face broke into a wide smile. He hugged the Princess tight. "Thank you, Zelda!"

Zelda couldn't help but smile as Link hugged her. Leaving Nintendo was a scary and reckless idea, but if her hero was by her side everything would be alright.

"Thinking of eloping with Princess Zelda?" An alluring feminine voice asked from behind Link.

Immediately the Hylian boy released the Princess and turned to the familiar voice. "Midna." He smiled at the tall figure of the Twilight Princess. He had to say, he liked her normal form better than her Imp form that followed him around most of the time.

Midna put her hands on her hips. "I hope you were going to invite me along as well?" She raised an orange eyebrow.

"Of course." Link said. "I wouldn't leave without asking you, Midna."

"Good." Midna crossed her arms. "Then I'm in. When are we leaving?"

"Tonight at midnight." Link answered.

"That doesn't give us much time." Zelda stated.

Link turned to her. "I know, but the sooner we leave the better chances we have of success."

"Well said, hero." Midna said. "I'll see you tonight then." With that, she walked off leaving the Princess and the Hero of Time alone.

Zelda pulled Link into a hug. "I hope you know what you're doing, Link."

Link hugged her back. "So do I."

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**AN:** I hope you enjoyed the prologue for Switching Sides. Please keep reading and reviewing.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** Hey, sorry it took so long to update. I hope you enjoy ^-^ Oh, and this goes without saying, but I own nothing of Nintendo, Legend of Zelda, or Square, or any of that stuff. But you know, have to put a disclaimer in there somewhere.

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By midnight Link had persuaded Vaati, Ganon, and several of his fairy companions to come with him to Square Enix. He was joined by Navi, Tatl, Tael, Ciela, Leaf, and Neri as he led his beloved horse Epona to the place Dark Link had picked out to meet before they escaped. Though his fairies were somewhat annoying at times, he felt like he couldn't leave them behind. However, Tatl and Tael wouldn't go with him without Skull Kid, so Link agreed to take him along as well.

He saw Zelda and Midna as he approached the rendezvous point. There were others with them, he noticed as he drew closer. Impa, Zelda's personal guard, was standing close to her. Behind Midna, Link saw three girls with red, green, and blue hair. He could only assume they were Din, Nayru, and Farore.

"We will be the first group." Dark Link stepped out of the shadows as soon as everyone was gathered together. "Red, Blue, and Purple Link will lead the rest of the people from our games who wish to join us. The Golden Sun cast will go last and make sure we're not followed."

Everyone nodded. Link was a little agitated that it was his counterpart in charge instead of himself, but it wasn't like Link actually knew how to get to Square. They silently followed the shadow down the empty hallways of the Nintendo facility. Link was grateful that his fairies decided to keep their mouths shut for a change.

The Nintendo facility was, and this may surprise some people, very gray. Everyone had their own rooms, and they could decorate the rooms however they wanted, but the hallways and simulation rooms were all shades of gray and black. There were more floors than Link could count, and each floor had one long hallway with doors lined up on either side. These were their rooms. In addition to rooms, each floor had a cafeteria of sorts and a break area where they could hang out with other Nintendo stars. On the highest levels of the building were the simulation chambers. This was where all the games were acted out and recorded. Above those rooms was where the Creators lived. No one was aloud up there. In fact, no one had ever seen any of the Creators. They've only heard their voices.

Link had never seen the outside of his home at Nintendo. There have been visitors to the Nintendo facility from other companies to record games on Nintendo's systems, but it was never the other way around. As the group made their way to the main elevator, Link couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Nintendo was his home. He knew nothing else. However, it was too late to turn back.

Dark Link stopped and held up his hand for the others to do the same. He motioned to Link to step closer to him, which he did. "Look." Dark Link whispered in his already airy voice. "I think they knew what we were planning." He pointed to the elevator doors.

Link strained his eyes to see what his other self was referring to. Then, he stifled a gasp. In front of the door was dragon that seemed to be sleeping. Not just any Dragon, Link noted, but a Rayquaza. He could tell that big green Pokémon from a mile away. Great, now they would have to either fight it which would cause too much noise, or find another way down. There was no other way down.

"What do we do now?" Tatl asked in an annoyed tone.

"Well duh, we have to fight it!" Leaf punched at the air as if _he_ could actually take on Rayquaza by himself.

"Are you crazy?" Neri put her hands on her hips. "If we fight him we'll wake up the whole floor!"

"Let's find another way." Navi suggested.

"Another way?" Ciela turned to Navi. "What? Climb down from a window? We're up who knows how far from the ground!"

"Would you all shut up?" Dark Link rasped.

Zelda stepped up close to the two Links. "We might be able to sneak by him, if we go one at a time. But…" She looked at Epona.

Link shook his head. "Nuh-uh, no way. I'm not leaving her behind."

"Epona won't be able to get past Rayquaza, Link." Zelda put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, but–"

Link shrugged away from her hand. "I'm not leaving without Epona, and that's final."

Vaati sighed and stood next to Dark Link. "Fine, you stay behind and find a way to escape with your precious horse. The rest of us will sneak past Greeny over there without you."

"Unfortunately, I agree with Zelda and Vaati." Midna said. "They're not guarding the secondary elevators, only the main one. It's a tight fit, but you can take Epona on there to go down. We'll meet you outside."

Link nodded. "I understand. I won't be long."

"I'm staying with Link." Dark Link said. "Vaati, take charge and lead the others out."

"Hey, why does Vaati get to be in charge?" Ganon asked in an agitated voice.

Dark Link sighed. "Fine, _you_ be in charge. I don't fu…freaking care. Just go!" He hissed.

Zelda gave Link a quick hug before continuing on with the others, leaving Link, Dark Link, Epona, and the fairies alone. Well, not all the fairies. Skull Kid went with the main group, so Tatl and Tael went with him. Link turned to Dark Link. "Why are you staying?" He asked.

"Because I have a plan." His shadow answered. "If the big shots really did find out about our escape plan, then they've probably planted even more powerful Pokémon elsewhere. My guess, all the exits are blocked."

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

Dark Link gave his other self a rather evil looking smirk. "What else? We go up to the Creator's floor. From there, we can control everything in the building."

Link gasped. "The Creator's floor? That's forbidden!"

"What, and quitting is not? Look Link, I've told you before and I'll tell you again. The Creators don't care about us. We're just money to them."

"But…"

"Going up to the Creator's floor is the only way we can make sure the others make it out in one piece. You don't want anything happening to your precious Princess Zelda, do you?"

"Of course not!"

"Then follow me." Dark Link walked past Link and Epona toward the other end of the hallway where the smaller secondary elevators were. Normally, they were only allowed to use these in case of emergency. Since no one had any reason to switch floors besides going up to the simulators to work on games, only the main elevator was needed. As they moved farther away from the sleeping Rayquaza, Link's fairies decided it was okay to start talking again.

"By the way." Navi started. "Why are you guys coming with us? Aren't you Toon Link's fairies?" She was referring to Ciela, Leaf, and Neri.

"Our game is finished." Ciela said. "We won't be used again."

"We love Toon Link." Neri added.

"But our role in his story is done. We got Phantom Hourglass and that's it." Leaf finished.

Navi flew closer to Link. "I know that feeling…"

They walked the rest of the way in silence. When they reached the elevators Dark Link turned to his counterpart again. "We'll send Epona down first. Don't worry." He added when he saw the momentary distress in Link's eyes. "She'll be fine. We'll make sure of that. She's a smart horse."

Link nodded and turned to Epona. "Take care, girl." He said and hugged her neck. "I'll be with you soon."

Epona snorted in understanding. Link pressed the button for the elevator and Epona walked inside when the doors opened. Dark Link pressed the button for the ground floor before stepping back out into the hallway. Link waved at his horse as the doors close. Dark Link rolled his eyes. "Man, you are so cheesy. It's a freaking horse for Din's sake."

Link chose to ignore his shadow's comment. "Let's just get this over with."

Dark Link pressed the button for the next elevator. He and Link, followed by the fairies, stepped on. As the doors closed, Link watched his darkness press the button for the simulator on the highest floor they were allowed to go to. "I've checked out this floor thoroughly, and there are stairs hidden at the end of the hallway after the last simulator. They go up." Dark Link smirked at Link. "Ready to meet your maker?"

Link rolled his eyes. "And you said _I_ was cheesy."

Link followed his shadow through the empty simulator room and to a stair case that he had never noticed before. It was well hidden, so it must have taken some time for Dark Link to find it in the first place. Well, he was the expert at that sort of stuff. They went up at least three flights before they found a door. Dark Link opened it, and the two found themselves stepping out onto the Creator's floor.

It was completely different from the floors below. If Link didn't know better, he'd say he was in Hyrule Castle. The floor was carpeted in a soft royal blue; there were comfy looking sofas and chairs with red and gold throw pillows sitting in one corner of the room; the ceiling was tall and had a few crystal chandeliers hanging from it.

"Look!" Navi flew over to a large window to the left of the stairs. There were no other windows in the Nintendo building, so Link couldn't help but stare openmouthed at the sight in front of him. Outside was a city flowing with buildings, people, and cars even this late at night. The strangest thing was, it seemed like they were on the ground level.

"They keep us underground. Out of sight." Dark Link stepped up to the window. "See those people, Link? They are the ones who buy our games. They believe that we're fictional; that we only exist as pixels on screens."

"Fictional?" Link put his hand on the glass.

"So, in other words…" Leaf sat on Link's shoulder, "They'd freak if they saw us."

"That's why we're not allowed up here." Ciela said.

Dark Link moved away from the window and went to the center of the room where what looked like the information desk was. He slipped behind the counter and turned on the computer.

"What are you doing?" Link asked as he walked over to his shadow self.

"Switching on the trains on the bottom floor so we can get out."

Link peeked over Dark Link's shoulder. "How do you know what you're doing?"

"Let's just say blending into the shadows is a very useful skill."

"You've been up here before?" Link asked in disbelief.

"I have a lot of free time. And…done!" Dark Link stepped back from the computer. "Let's get out of here."

"Link?" A familiar voice called from behind the pair. Both quickly whirled around to see a man walking up to them. They both knew who he was from his voice. Miyamoto. "What are you doing up here?"

Link simply stared at his Creator. For the first time he was looking at the man whom he considered his father.

"You know it is forbidden to come up here." Miyamoto said with more force.

_When I give the signal, you and the fairies make a break for it._ Dark Link's voice echoed in Link's head.

Link glanced at his counterpart for a moment before looking back at Miyamoto. The Creator held his hand out to Link. "Come with me, Link. I'll take you back to your room."

Link was about to say something before he saw two Dark Link clones walking up behind Miyamoto. One of them put a finger to his mouth to keep the others quiet. Link blinked in understanding and decided to keep his "father" distracted. "No. I won't go back. I won't be forgotten."

"Forgotten? What makes you think you'll be forgotten?" Miyamoto asked.

"As soon as The Legend of Zelda stops selling, you're going to just toss me aside and move on to the next new hero." Link was serious now. He could feel himself getting angrier with every word he said.

"That's not true, Link. I would never abandon you like that. You're my–" Miyamoto was interrupted by the two Dark Link clones jumping on him.

"Go!" The original Dark Link shoved his other self toward the stairs. The two Links ran to the door with their fairies following close behind. Navi and Ciela flew ahead and opened the door for the others. As soon as everyone was through they flew after them, letting the door swing shut behind them.

The clones vanished, leaving Miyamoto alone in the lobby of Nintendo. "You're my son…" He said in a pained voice.

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**AN:** Thanks for reading. I hope to post more soon, so please keep reading and reviewing! ^-^


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